Renewable energy: Is it getting too hot for solar s?

DUP MP Sammy Wilson has tweeted: "The UK has had to start coal fired generators during this heatwave because the sun is too strong and solar s have had to be taken offline."

This isn't true.

While it's correct that solar s are less efficient at hot temperatures, this reduction is relatively small, and was not the main reason for firing up coal power stations.

We spoke to Mr Wilson, who confirmed that the article he had read said that there was a "severe" fall in output, not that the s had to be taken offline.

According to Solar Energy UK, solar performance typically falls by about 0.34 percentage points for every degree that the temperature rises above 25C, although that varies between different s.

It also said that the longer days and clearer skies mean solar power generates much more electricity during the summer, even if the efficiency falls.

On Monday 12 June, coal power was used for the first time in 46 days, but solar power still generated around one-fifth of the UK's electricity during the middle part of the day.

Output from solar power was